Nonstop flight route between Komatsu, Ishikawa, Japan and Istres, France:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Komatsu Airport (KMQ), Komatsu, Ishikawa, Japan and Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE), Istres, France would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,131 miles (or 9,867 kilometers).

A Great Circle is the shortest distance between 2 points on a sphere. Because most world maps are flat (but the Earth is round), the route of the shortest distance between 2 points on the Earth will often appear curved when viewed on a flat map, especially for long distances. If you were to simply draw a straight line on a flat map and measure a very long distance, it would likely be much further than if you were to lay a string between those two points on a globe. Because of the large distance between Komatsu Airport and Istres-Le Tubé Air Base, the route shown on this map most likely appears curved because of this reason.

Try it at home! Get a globe and tightly lay a string between Komatsu Airport and Istres-Le Tubé Air Base. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!

Departure Airport Information:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about Komatsu Airport (KMQ):

• The airport is located near the Hokuriku Expressway.
• Komatsu Airport (KMQ) currently has only 1 runway.
• Ishikawa Prefecture set aside funds for an airport promotion committee in 2012 amid expectations that the opening of the Hokuriku Shinkansen in 2015 would impact traffic on the Komatsu-Tokyo route.
• The closest airport to Komatsu Airport (KMQ) is Fukui Airport (FKJ), which is located 20 miles (32 kilometers) SSW of KMQ.
• In addition to being known as "Komatsu Airport", other names for KMQ include "小松飛行場" and "Komatsu Hikōjō".
• The furthest airport from Komatsu Airport (KMQ) is Rio Grande Regional Airport (RIG), which is located 11,864 miles (19,093 kilometers) away in Rio Grande, Brazil.
• Because of Komatsu Airport's relatively low elevation of 22 feet, planes can take off or land at Komatsu Airport at a lower air speed than at airports located at a higher elevation. This is because the air density is higher closer to sea level than it would otherwise be at higher elevations.
• The airport has a single passenger terminal building serving domestic and international flights.

Facts about Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE):

• The furthest airport from Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE) is Chatham Islands (CHT), which is nearly antipodal to Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (meaning Istres-Le Tubé Air Base is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Chatham Islands), and is located 12,364 miles (19,898 kilometers) away in Waitangi, Chatham Islands, New Zealand.
• Because of Istres-Le Tubé Air Base's relatively low elevation of 162 feet, planes can take off or land at Istres-Le Tubé Air Base at a lower air speed than at airports located at a higher elevation. This is because the air density is higher closer to sea level than it would otherwise be at higher elevations.
• In addition to being known as "Istres-Le Tubé Air Base", another name for QIE is "Base aérienne 125 Istres (BA 125)Advanced Landing Ground (ALG) Y-17".
• Secondary users occasionally include the United States Air Force, during Allied operations engaging United States and France.
• C135FR "GRV 093 Bretagne"
• Sometime after World War II, until May 1958 Base Aérienne 125 was host to the Royal Air Force Liaison Party, that serviced transient British and Commonwealth military aircraft staging to and from the United Kingdom.
• Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Istres-Le Tubé Air Base (QIE) is Marseille Provence Airport (MRS), which is located only 15 miles (24 kilometers) ESE of QIE.